In the pantheon of Navratri goddesses, Queen Vakpushta deserves her rightful throne
In 100 BC, when the world barely understood the concept of gender equality, Kashmir witnessed something revolutionary, a queen who didn’t just wear a crown but earned it. Queen Vakpushta, wife of King Tujin, embodied the fierce compassion of Durga herself, transforming a kingdom through partnership that poets still sing about.
Kalhana’s Rajatarangini captures their union with breathtaking poetry: “Just as a rainbow of different colours is formed from lightning and clouds, in the same way the entire Kashmir division was nourished by the king and queen.” This wasn’t mere royal romance—it was governance reimagined, where two souls ruled as one entity, sharing not just power but responsibility.
Vakpushta’s Test
When nature unleashed its fury during Sawan and Bhadaun, burying Kashmir’s paddy fields under merciless snow, Vakpushta faced her greatest trial. Families turned cannibalistic in their hunger, fathers stealing morsels from sons, sons from fathers. The treasury haemorrhaged resources faster than they could replenish.
But where others saw catastrophe, this ancient Durga saw opportunity for innovation. Queen Vakpushta conceived what we now recognize as the Public Distribution System,a revolutionary welfare mechanism that predated modern socialism by millennia. She systematically organized food distribution networks, ensuring survival reached every household, transforming disaster into a masterclass in crisis management.
Today, as we celebrate Navratri, Vakpushta’s legacy resonates powerfully. She exemplifies the divine feminine capacity to nurture through adversity, lead through partnership, and innovate through compassion. In our contemporary battles against inequality and hunger, this Kashmir queen’s 2500-year-old blueprint remains startlingly relevant, a testament to visionary leadership that transcends time itself.
The description / story and the image is a copyright protected material by Ashish Kaul’s research manual StreeDesh – the legendary women of Kashmir
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